I’m all about cozy soups, and the White Chicken Chili recipe has always been one of my favorites. This Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili is the perfect example of why people love slow cookers so much. You literally just dump everything in the slow cooker, give it a quick stir, then turn it on and walk away. When you come back you have this hearty white bean chicken chili that’s ready for topping with creamy cheese and diving in with some tortilla chips. And when the sky is dark, the air is cold, and you’ve got the winter blues, easy dinners like this are a total life saver!
This post contains some affiliate links, which means that we make a small commission off items you purchase at no additional cost to you.
See this recipe used in my weekly meal prep.
Does White Chicken Chili Have Chili Powder?
Nope! Unlike traditional red chili, this “white” chili does not contain chili powder. It’s flavored using salsa verde, cumin, and oregano. This chili gets its name from the white beans used in place of the red kidney beans used in red chili.
Is This Chili Spicy?
This chili is a “medium” level spicy. If you want to make the chili more mild, skip the jalapeño and cayenne pepper listed in the ingredients, and make sure to use a mild salsa verde.
What Size Slow Cooker do I Need?
You can make this in a 3-4 quart slow cooker, or double the recipe for a 5-7 qt slow cooker and feed a crowd. I have a 5 quart slow cooker (affiliate link) and the recipe, as listed below, filled it about half way.
Can This White Chicken Chili be Frozen?
Yes, this chili freezes very well! As always, make sure to chill your chili completely in the refrigerator first, before transferring to the freezer for long term storage. I prefer to freeze all my leftovers in single portions so they can be reheated one by one whenever I get hungry.
Chili Topping Ideas
I highly suggest topping this chili with something creamy, like the Monterrey jack cheese listed in the ingredients below, some sour cream, or avocado. The creamy flavor is the perfect contrast to the salsa verde. You can also top with some green onion, sliced jalapeño, cilantro, pico de gallo, crumbled cornbread, or pickled red onions.
Easy Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili
Servings 6 1.5 cups eachIngredients
- 1 yellow onion ($0.32)
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.16)
- 1 jalapeño (optional) ($0.11)
- 1 boneless skinless chicken breast (about 3/4 lb.) ($3.62)
- 1 16oz. jar salsa verde ($2.59)
- 2 15oz. cans cannellini beans ($0.98)
- 1 15oz. can pinto beans ($0.89)
- 1 Tbsp ground cumin ($0.30)
- 1 tsp dried oregano ($0.10)
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper ($0.02)
- ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper ($0.03)
- 2 cups chicken broth ($0.26)
- 4 oz. Monterey Jack cheese, shredded ($0.85)
Instructions
- Dice the onion and mince the garlic. Slice the jalapeńo lengthwise, scrape out the seeds with a spoon, then dice. Place the onion, garlic, jalapeño, and chicken breast in the bottom of a slow cooker.
- Drain and rinse the cannellini beans and pinto beans, then add them to the slow cooker, along with the cumin, oregano, cayenne, and freshly ground black pepper. Pour the salsa over top.
- Pour two cups of chicken broth over the contents in the cooker and then give everything a brief stir. Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on high for four hours, or on low for eight hours.
- After four hours on high, or eight hours on low, carefully remove the chicken breast from the slow cooker and use two forks to shred the meat. Return the meat to the slow cooker. Stir the chili, slightly mashing the beans with the back of the spoon as you stir. The mashed beans will help thicken the chili.
- Serve the chili topped with shredded Monterey Jack cheese. Other optional toppings include fresh cilantro, diced avocado, freshly squeeze lime, or tortilla chips.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Equipment
- Slow Cooker
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!Video
Serve with a side of Jalapeño Cheddar Cornbread!
How to Make Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili – Step by Step Photos
Dice one yellow onion and mince two cloves of garlic. Slice the jalapeño in half, scrape out the seeds, then dice the remaining pepper. Add the onion, garlic, jalapeño, and chicken breast to the slow cooker.
Drain and rinse two 15oz. cans of cannellini beans and one 15oz. can of pinto beans. Add the drained beans to the slow cooker along with 1 Tbsp cumin, 1 tsp oregano, ¼ tsp cayenne, and some freshly cracked black pepper.
Pour one 16oz. jar of salsa verde into the slow cooker (I’ve used many brands for this recipe in the past, the one in the photo is Kroger’s Private Selectrion brand).
Pour two cups of chicken broth into the slow cooker.
Briefly stir the contents of the slow cooker to distribute the spices. Place a lid on top and cook on high for four hours, or low for eight hours.
After cooking on high for four hours, or on low for eight hours, remove the chicken breast to a clean cutting board to shred (or you can shred directly in the pot with two forks).
Shred the chicken using two forks.
Return the shredded chicken to the slow cooker and stir to combine. Use the back of a spoon to smash some of the beans against the side of the pot. The smashed beans will help thicken the chili.
Top with your favorite ingredients and enjoy!
This is delicious and so easy, Beth. I had a recipient for something similar that I misplaced a while back. This was a great find for me as it is very similar (even better!) I mushed up the beans and let it sit over night to increase the thickness. Very good!
Recipe! Not recipient. LOL.
Hi Beth, I am not a fan of salsa verde. Do you have a recommendation of what I could use in its place? I did try it with the salsa verde but it confirmed it wasn’t my favorite.
Someone else commented that they made it with regular red salsa and enjoyed it quite a bit, so that would probably be the next best substitution! :)
I am making this right now with a few changes! I soaked white and pinto beans overnight and am cooking them right in the slow cooker. I set it to low and plan to cook for about 8 hours. I am also subbing cubed tofu for chicken and Better than Bouillon vegetarian No-Chicken broth. It smells awesome so far! So excited to have this for work lunches this week!
I doubled this recipe for a larger pot, used chicken thighs (boneless/skinless), and added 2 large cans of corn at the very end. We loved it! Great flavor and just the right amount of heat.
I hate to bring the ratings down, but this one just wasn’t for us. I followed the recipe exactly, but we just didn’t love it. I think it was the addition of the jarred salsa. But I have loved every recipe I’ve tried on your site besides this one! We ended up using it on top of nachos, so it didn’t go to waste. :)
Loved it! It was a bit salty though. Will try with reduced sodium chicken broth next time or maybe a different kind of salsa verde.
Hi Beth, do you think I can go without the broth? It looks absolutely delicious, but just a little too soupy for me.
Yes, that might work. Or, you can try reducing the broth to just one cup. :)
I made this last night. It was a big hit. The chicken was frozen and I let it cook all day, almost 12hrs, on low. The addition of lime sounds good.
Hi, I saw your post and was looking to ask if I could do it for 12 hours on low (unfortunately I won’t be home for 12 hours). Do you think it turned out ok doing it for 12 hours?
Yes, that will probably work okay.
Love this recipe. Do you think it would freeze well for eating later? I freeze most beef chili that I make and it turns out great but wasn’t sure about this.
Yes, I think this one will freeze very well. :)
I made this last night, and subbed black beans for the cannellini, added frozen corn in at the end, and used lime as well. It turned out great! Since I wanted a longer cooking time, I cooked it on low for about 8 hours (though I probably could’ve eaten it around 6-7 hours). Thank you for posting this- I love it when you post slow cooker meals!
This recipe turned out delicious!!!! I am such a fan of this blog and have tried lots of recipes. I think this may be my favorite now! Cooked on low for 8 hrs and came out perfect. So easy to make. We added avocado, sour cream, and tortilla chips. Yum :)
Another hit in my household that turned out perfect. You are actually making me think I can cook. I can’t wait to cook up more of you recipes.
Another amazing recipe. Might be one of the best ones on the site! So so easy and so flavorful. I ate it with cilantro, little cheese, and scooped some with chips. Wanted to eat the whole crockpot!
Yum!!!! great hit with all at my house including the beef chili lover
Hi Beth, is there any reason this couldn’t work with a non-tomatillo salsa? I tend to prefer red salsas, but otherwise this looks delicious!
Yep, you can definitely do it with a red salsa if you prefer. :)
Thank you!! Update in case anyone happens to be curious: it turned out incredible! I used a generic-supermarket medium-spicy red salsa. So if you’re tomatillo-shy like me, don’t skip this recipe!